Whatever Happened to Dodger?
DISCLAIMER: Believe it or not, I am not Charles Dickens. Gasp! Sorry to disappoint all of you. I assure you that most of these characters and some of the plot belongs to him, wherever he may be buried.
SUMMARY: Did you ever wonder what happened to the Dodger? Charles Dickens gladly tells us what happened to Oliver, Fagin, Charley, Nancy, and Bill, but what happened to that funny boy with the top hat who disappeared from the text around chapter 43?
A/N: I wasn't very happy with the way chapter 6 turned out and I know that some of my reviewers didn't like it either (although I was really surprised by the number of reviewers who said they actually liked it). I'm sorry about that. I just couldn't figure out how to write it. I had to make that scene happen somehow, but I couldn't figure out how. I'm hoping this chapter will put everything in its place so there won't be as many concerns about the last chapter. If this chapter doesn't make everything better, please tell me and I will consider revising chapter 6 a bit. Suggestions are more than welcome, although lies are better. Um, that was a joke. Please don't lie. Lying is bad.
I hate my luck. This chapter would have been up a month ago, but on the day I was going to post this chapter my computer completely died. It's been in the shop for a month. But now it's back and here's chapter 7.
Chapter 7: Consequences
So maybe going to the prison had not been the best idea.
Now that Dodger had time to think, he was seriously regretting his actions. He should have thought that someone might recognize him. He did cause quite a scene at his trial, but that was years ago.
He had never thought for a second that anyone would remember him. Why would they? Hundreds of prisoners were probably held in those cells every year and six years had passed since Dodger had been a prisoner there.
It was coincidental, that's all. It was just a really bad coincidence.
Why had that jailor remembered him of all people?
Dodger knew he should never have gone to the prison at all. It was just that he really wanted to get rid of the responsibilities of watching this child and the only way to know how long it was going to last would be to find the boy's mother and ask. It just so happened that his mother was in prison, so that's where they went.
Who would have thought that one jailor whom he had not seen in six years would remember him?
But then again…
The Dodger could remember his trial vividly. He could remember it like it was yesterday.
He remembered being arrested. He remembered being taken to the prison and placed in a cell where he had been forced to spend the night. The next day, he had been taken abruptly from his cell by the same jailor he had previously encountered. The jailor had told him he was going to his trial. Dodger put up quite a fight when he was told to take his hat off before entering the courtroom, but in the end, he lost the battle and begrudgingly held his hat in his right hand.
The jailor had walked him into the room where his trial was to be held and stood next to Dodger the whole time as if he expected him to try and run away.
Dodger suddenly remembered one small, trivial part of the trial when the magistrate had asked if Dodger had ever been there before.
The jailor had answered, "He ought to have been, a many times. He has been pretty well everywhere else. I know him well, your worship."
He had obviously seen Dodger before, many times.
This particular jailor must have had a very good memory.
So, if the jailor had known him so well then, all he had really needed was something to remind him of Dodger and he would surely remember. Of course, Dodger had just given him that reminder.
He knew better than to just walk into a prison like that. Fagin had always discouraged it because they could be recognized.
But Dodger had always been one to live life in an arbitrary fashion. He never thought ahead, never thought of consequences.
Now, anything could happen. Who knew what the jailor would do. Perhaps he would think that the Dodger's sentence had been cut short for some reason, and he had been sent home. Then, he would think nothing of it and leave Dodger alone. Or he might alert the other police that Dodger had escaped. Soon, all the police in London might be after him. Then what?
They should not have gone to the prison.
They were almost home by this point and Dodger had not even noticed where they were going. He also had not heard Timothy chattering away at his side. He was getting better at tuning him out.
Once they were inside and Dodger was sure they had not been followed, Dodger informed Timothy that they would not be going back to work after lunch that day.
Timothy was rather excited about having a day off, but Dodger did not know why. The child had nothing to do with his time. Surely he would entertain himself by talking.
Dodger flopped down on his hammock and thought that perhaps if the boy thought he was sleeping, he would leave him alone.
It worked…for a little while.
Dodger thought back to his conversation with Bet. Was what she had said true? All of his friends were gone.
Of course it was true. Bet would not lie to him, at least, not about something this serious.
Fagin was dead. Nancy was dead. Sikes was dead. Charley was a farmer, which was as good as dead as far as the Dodger was concerned.
There was no one left. No one.
There had been an attack. That was why Fagin's den had looked the way it had when Dodger had visited it only weeks before. They had been forced out.
Tom was still alive, the Dodger reminded himself. So was Bet. A lot of good they were though, working and getting arrested.
Bet would only be in jail for another few weeks and Tom would be back soon, too. It was only a matter of time before Dodger wouldn't be so alone anymore. He would have friends again.
In the meantime, he had Timmy to keep him company.
Speaking of Timmy, he was being awfully quiet and it was beginning to worry Dodger.
A loud crashing noise from the next room was a sure sign that Timmy was still alive.
Dodger groaned and decided to ignore the sound. He would go see the damage later.
Suddenly, he was forced back to the present and the problem at hand. What would the two of them do about the fact that Dodger had been recognized?
They could not possibly stay hidden in this room until Bet and Tom came to retrieve Timothy. They would starve.
They would just have to be a little more careful from now on. London was a big enough place. They could blend in. Sure, that would work. They'd be fine, and there was nothing else to worry about…right?
Dodger was again brought back to his senses when Timothy cautiously stuck his head into the room.
"What did you do?" Dodger asked, not even looking up at the child.
Timothy laughed nervously.
"Er," he started slowly, carefully trying to pick his words. "The table broke."
And sure enough, the table lay in pieces on the floor.
Bet could not possibly return soon enough.
AN: So, this chapter was short because I was trying to keep it as simple as possible. It's rather boring but necessary. Yes, it's definitely necessary. Um, I don't know when chapter 8 will be up because, quite honestly, I have no clue what it's going to be about. Yeah, so wish me luck so that I can think of a chapter 8. Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews! I feel like this is a cheating chapter because it is so short and boring, but then again, that's kind of what it is. I will try to put chapter 8 up as soon as possible to make up for this chapter but I'm not promising anything. Again, thanks for the reviews!
Um...what is my name again: Haha! You have no idea how entertaining it was for me to listen to you babble on everyday about who you thought Timmy's parents were. It was very amusing. Yes, you did guess Tom at one point but I never told you if it was right or not. You didn't even try to guess the mother. Well, now you know. I figured you'd like that last line. You're very predictable. Here's your chapter 7. Now, will you stop with the Mexican jokes? They aren't funny…and it's not my fault my computer died. You act like I planned it…
Anonymous: Nice try, Kelly. Please only review once per chapter. Reviewing twice won't make me write any faster.
Mlle. Verity: That was one of the many problems I had with chapter 6. I didn't know how else to write that part so I just had him arbitrarily decide to go visit the prison. He was just so tired of having to watch Timmy that he didn't even stop to think about the consequences but just went. Normally, he wouldn't have taken that chance, but he has been away for quite some time so he didn't think anyone would recognize him, which they wouldn't have if he had just kept his mouth shut. That's what this chapter is for. It's to have him realize the consequences of his actions in chapter 6. This will also lead to various problems later in the story. Thank you for the constructive criticism. I hope I have everything worked out. Please tell me if this still doesn't clear everything up.
FrodoFever: Thank you very much. I hope you will read the rest of the story. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for the review.
Hannah the Fly: I'm glad you liked chapter 6. I hope you will enjoy chapter 7. I agree that the 1948 movie is one of the best Oliver Twist movies. It is closer to the book than any of the other movies I've seen. I would imagine they had to cut out a lot of the book because the book is so long. They would never be able to fit all of it into a movie. It would be wonderful if they could though. I didn't like the 1998 version very much. Dodger was so out of character that it annoyed me (I judge the movies by the Dodger in it…sad, I know), and he was much older than the other kids. My brother laughed at me because I cringed every time Elijah Wood spoke. I couldn't stand his accent. Let's face it, he was just not meant to play Dodger. I've never seen the miniseries. I can't imagine how that would be good at all. I have, however, seen the play that is currently playing around the United States. It was really good. It was almost exactly like the musical. I enjoyed it. The actors were all very talented even though they all faked the British accents. They were more convincing than Elijah Wood. I read chapter 4 of your story and I tried to review but my evil computer would not let me. I will try again later, but if it still doesn't work I just wanted to let you know that I liked it. Yeah, my review would be better than "I liked it" but I can't review at the moment. Anyway, keep up the good work. Thanks for reviewing. I hope you enjoy chapter 7.
ArtfulDodgerLover: I think your review got cut off a bit. I am interested to know what you were trying to say, so if you wouldn't mind reviewing again I would appreciate it. Thanks for reviewing!
Dstrbd child: I own the movie Oliver! too. It's one of my favorites. In fact, during the summer, I made my brothers watch it with me every day while I was babysitting them. It was amusing because they would act out the "I'd Do Anything" scene and I had to be Dodger because I know all the words and they would fight over which one of them should be Nancy. They got into a fistfight over who was a better Nancy once. It was funny. I'm glad you like this story. No, Timmy is not a mini-Dodger. He is definitely his own character. He is modeled a bit after my six-year-old brother. I like his character.Thanks for your reviews! Enjoy chapter 7.
Thanks for all the reviews! Over 20! I'm so excited!
Chapter 8as soon as possible
Read and review!
Thanks!
